Home Depot (NYSE:HD) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales that missed analysts' expectations and offered a weaker-than-anticipated outlook for fiscal 2019.
With U.S. home sales and prices under pressure, fewer shoppers are heading out to buy materials for home projects and renovations.
Home Depot reported net income for the quarter ended Feb. 3 of $2.34 billion, or $2.09 per share, compared with $1.78 billion, or $1.52 a share, a year ago.
The latest results included a pretax impairment charge of roughly $247 million, or 16 cents per share, tied to Home Depot's wholesale business, Interline Brands. Analysts were calling for earnings of $2.16 a share, according to an economists' poll.
Revenue for the quarter climbed nearly 11% from a year ago, to $26.49 billion from $23.88 billion. That also came in short of analysts expectations for $26.57 billion.
Sales at stores open for at least 12 months were up 3.2%, missing expected growth of 4.5%. Home Depot said customer transactions were up 7.7% during the quarter, while the average shopper's ticket increased 2.5%, and sales per square foot were up 4.9%.
Home Depot also on Tuesday announced a dividend increase of 32%, to $1.36 a share, and a new $15-billion share repurchase program.
Looking to fiscal 2019, the company said it expects to earn $10.03 per share, 23 cents short of analysts' forecasts. Home Depot is calling for same-store sales to be up 5% in fiscal 2019, with revenue climbing roughly 3.3%.
Shares in HD plummeted $6.35, or 3.3%, to $183.63 soon after Tuesday’s open
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